Alain Platel

Alain Platel is an autodidact director. In 1984 he set up a small group with a number of friends and relatives to work collectively. “Emma” (1988) signalled his concentration on directing. He was responsible for “Bonjour Madame” (1993), “La Tristeza Complice” (1995) and “Iets op Bach” (1998), with which les ballets C de la B (as the group was now called) rocketed to the international top. After “Allemaal Indiaan” (1999) he announced that he was stopping making productions. But shortly afterwards Gerard Mortier persuaded him to do “Wolf” (2003) based on Mozart for the Ruhrtriennale. The choir project for the opening of the new KVS marked the start of close collaboration with the composer Fabrizio Cassol. In collaboration with director Frank Van Laecke, he created “Gardenia” (June 2010), a production inspired by the film “Yo soy así”. “C(H)ŒURS” (2012), so far Platel’s biggest project, is created on demand of opera director Gerard Mortier. He got to work with the famous choral scenes from Verdi’s operas, later on he added pieces of music from Richard Wagner’s works. In “tauberbach” (2014), invited to the Theatertreffen 2014, director Alain Platel continues previous research into the development of movement material that he describes as “bastard dance”. In autumn 2015, he presented “Coup Fatal” a collaboration with Serge Kakudji, Rodriguez Vangama and Fabrizio Cassol, at Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

As of July 2016